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Re: Just a stupid question Do bee's polinate dogwood trees?

Maybe the dogwoods arround here taste better. I have several wild dogwoods in and around my home yard. I went out a few moments ago to look and there were several honeybees on the blooms and they appear to be heavy with pollen. There is no shortage of blooms, clover, spring beauties, henbit, fruit trees, black locusts and the privette is only and few days away. The bees are busy but they are visiting the dogwood also.

Re: Just a stupid question Do bee's polinate dogwood trees?

Not a stupid question at all, to the extent that there's a graduation thesis inspired by a similar questions in mind.

Searching against "honey" in the thesis gives these results:

* Lacking any floral impediment to nectar or pollen, a large diversity of insect visitors have been observed including, honey bees, native bees, syrphid flies, as well as other Dipterans, butterflies and beetles

* In past survey efforts, many insects have been observed in association with Cornus species including honey bees, native bees, syrphid flies and other dipterans, butterflies and beetles

* Honey bees in screen cages have been used to cross pollinate dogwoods, although a solution containing sucrose and queen mandibular pheromone must be placed on the bracts to attract the honey bees to flowers, which produce very little nectar

* Cages containing an insect vector (honey bees) had high rates of fruit set, suggesting wind is an ineffective vector for pollen transfer

* Honey bees in screened cages are commonly used to cross trees for breeding purposes and have been successful in controlled crosses involving flowering and kousa dogwoods (Wadl et al., 2009; Wang et al., 2009). Naturally foraging honey bees seldom visit inflorescences of C. florida because of the miniscule nectar reward offered by the flower.[bolded by me - marenostrum] To overcome this limitation a solution containing sucrose and honey bee queen mandibular pheromone can applied to the base of bracts to entice honey bees to visit the flowers (Craddock et al., 1997)

Originally Posted by Buzzy Bee

i heard some ware that dogwood blossoms are not really flowers but leaves.

Re: Just a stupid question Do bee's polinate dogwood trees?

Actually, ALL flower petals are leaves. They are highly modified leaves that do not photosynthesize or function like leaves, but their developmental origins are the same as leaves. That does not, however, make the flower a leaf. It is still a flower, composed of (up to) four parts: sepals, petals, stamens and carpels. Flowers do not have to have all four parts, but all four parts are floral whorls (flower parts).

Also, Ted - you are right about sphinx moths being nocturnal, but there is one group of them (and I thought that you would find it interesting) that is diurnal. I only learned this year watching insects pollinate our dwarf korean lilac. The Snowberry Clearwing is in the sphinx moth family and is diurnal (at least I saw it all day!). The group of clearwings are bumblebee and honeybee mimics. Check them out - they are a really neat moth.

Re: Just a stupid question Do bee's polinate dogwood trees?

Buzzy Bee,

There are different kinds of dogwoods. One type that is plentiful in my area of Northeast Ohio is the Red Osier Dogwood. This is the red-twigged one that heus mentioned. It has umbellate clusters of flowers that the bees DO work, and are doing so right now with great gusto.

Originally Posted by Buzzy Bee

The only reason i ask is because i heard some ware that dogwood blossoms are not really flowers but leaves.

I believe what you are referring to are the types of dogwoods that have what appear to be large, single flowers with four big, white petals. These "petals" are, in fact, the sepals of the flower. If you look closely, you will see that the greenish cluster inside those sepals consists of a multitude of tiny flowers, each with its own tiny petals.

“Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.” – Albert Einstein